Fence barb arm

ABSTRACT

A Y-shaped barbed wire holder for attachment to the top of fence posts by means of an integral base which fits over the post. One barb arm and one half of the base if formed from from a single piece of sheet metal. The other half of the base is welded in place and an end closing disc is held in the base by an annular groove. The second barb arm is welded to the bight of the first arm.

United States Patent [151 3,698,691 Brown 1 51 Oct. 17, 1972 [541 FENCE BARB ARM 1,460,936 7/1923 Bailey ....256/1 1 Inventor: Thomas w Brown, Creek Getz....; Road. East Chattanooga Term 1,773,519 8/1930 Cox ..256/1l 37406 1,839,898 l/l932 Skinner ..256/1l 2,161,944 1/1939 Bauer ..256/l1 [22] Filed: June 16, 1971 Primary Examiner-Dennis L. Taylor 21 l. l 1 App No l5373l Att0rney-Stevens, Davis, Miller & Mosher' [52] US. Cl ..256/l1, 29/150 [57] ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl. ..E04h 17/06 58 Field of Search ..256/1 1, 1, 47, 48, 34 A Y'shaped barbed Madmen F- top of fence posts by means of an integral base which fits over the post. One barb arm and one half of the [56] References cued base if formed from from a single piece of sheet metal. UNITED STATES PATENTS The other half of the base is welded in place and an end closing disc is held in the base by an annular D215,726 10/1969 SklbOWSkl ..256/1 1 X groove The Second barb arm is welded to the bight f 1,192,216 7/1916 Louden ..256/65 UX the first arm 1,401,509 12/1921 Bailey ..256/11 1,440,852 1/ 1923 Thomson ..256/1 1 2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDucr 17 I972 INVENTOR THOMAS W. BROWN mmnmvs FENCE BARB ARM This invention relates to an improved device for supporting one of more strands of barbed wire at the top of a fence, preferably a chain link fence. In such fences it is common practice in places where extra security is needed, to position an inclined arm above the fence post, this arm having slots to hold barbed wire strands which run parallel with the fence itself. The prior art has utilized base members (to be secured to the top of the fence post) which are separate from the arm members such as US. Pat. No. 3,028,147 to Crumbo; separate cast base members to which an arm may be adjustably secured such as US. Pat. No. l,703,189 to Getz and various other devices where the base member and the arm member are separately manufactured and are subsequently bolted or welded together. Although many of these devices are strong and serviceable, they are expensive to manufacture.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a Y-shaped fence barb arm which is economical to manufacture with the base being integral with the arm.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a method for manufacturing barb arms which are stamped from sheet metal and welded with a minimum number of fabricating steps.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon a review of the following disclosure of a preferred embodiment, given by way of example only, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the arm of this invention in place atop a chain link fence;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the arm shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a detailed view showing the location of the welds and the positioning of the parts in an assembled arm.

Turning now to a detailed description of the arm it- 'self, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 12 identifies the combination arm and base unit having an arm 14 containing slots 16 for insertion of the barbed wires and a semi-circular base section 18. That base section forms one-half of the base (which fits around the top of a round fence post) and base member 20 forms the other half ofthe circular base. When these two halves are welded together, an internal annular groove 22 is formed to hold a disc member 24. Thus, the area below the disc forms a socket which the fence post, for example 1%- inch galvanized pipe, can be inserted. Other shapes could, of course, be used to fit on square or rectangular posts.

No separate welding is needed to keep the disc 24 in place since the annular groove 22 is of just sufficient interior diameter to hold the disc captive in place. A further annular raised portion 26 is preferably formed in the base for purposes of strengthening it in order to insure that the interior diameter is round and readily adaptable to fit over the round pipe post.

The insertion of the disc 24 to form a socket or cup inside the base also prevents water from entering the post and a drainage hole may be provided in either half of the base member to drain water away from the top of the disc 24. When the two halves of the base member are welded together, an eliptical opening 28 is formed to hold the top rail 30 of the fence. The hole is eliptically shaped so that a round pipe can be received when the fence is running up or downhill.

A separate arm member 32 is formed which is preferably identical to the arm portion 14 and is secured in place by, weld 34 on the bight portion of the U-shaped arm and weld 36 on the leg portion. A similar weld (not shown) is on the side opposite weld 36. The Y barb arm thus formed has provision to carry six strands of barbed wire, three facing inwardly and three facing outwardly.

The two halves of the base member are held together by weld 38, which is visible in FIG. 3 and another diametrically opposite weld 38 which is not shown in the figures. Similarly, a weld 40 is placed on top of a finger 44 which fits over a recessed tip 42 of arm 12. A tongue portion 46 is shaped to fit within the interior U- section of arm 12. A weld similar to 40, but on the opposite side is also made in order to secure the two semicircular base members together. Thus, only four welds, all of which can be automatically and simultaneously made, are needed in order to form the base into a solid and extremely servicable piece. Only three additional welds are required to hold the arm 32 onto arm 12 in order to form the Y configuration.

The method of this invention will now be described in detail. The barb arm is made entirely from sheet steel which is pressed by the use of dies into a configuration that resembles a Y when in use on top of an industrial fence. The arm consists before welding, of four separate parts as shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 1 shows the complete arm after welding.

Part 12 is formed from a flat plate of steel, trapizoidal in shape, and is blanked from a sheet coil 20- 13/16 inches wide. The openings which accomodate the three strands of barb wire for part 12 are then punched in this plate and the plate is trimmed at the same time on the die. After the holes and trimming are accomplished, the process of forming is begun on the next die to form it into a shape having a U cross section. Two more dies are used to complete the part 12, one die trims excess metal off the basal part and the last die bends it' at a 45 configuration to complete the part 12.

Part 20 completes the basal portion of the barb arm and fits the basal part 18. It is blanked and formed on what is commonly called progressive die. The plate of steel used for this is 5% inches wide and the blanking part of the die trims the blank.

The forming part of the progressive die completes part 20 except for trimming which is done on a separate die. One stroke of the press completes the part 20 except for trimming of the edges. The purpose in trimming the edges as shown is so the base segments will fit together with no open crack or seam when welded.

The next operation on the way to forming the Y-arm is to weld parts 18 and 20 together. This is accomplished by placing them into an air clamp which holds the parts securely while the welding process is accomplished. Welding is done automatically on four spots on placed in such a way that a cup is formed when this arm is placed on a post and water is prevented from entering the posts. The'disc 24 is punched when part 20 is blanked.

After parts 18, 20, and 24 are joined together, a standard three strand barb arm is formed. A second barb arm is then formed in a manner similar to that used for arm 12 except that 15 inches wide coil steel is used. The second arm 32 is then welded to the first arm in the manner shown in FIG. 3.

What is claimed is:

1. A Y-shaped arm assembly for supporting wires above a fence having vertical support post comprising:

a. a first arm member having an inclined portion of U cross section with slots to receive said wires and a first base portion shaped to encompass approximately one half the periphery of said post formed on one end and integral therewith;

b. a second similarly shaped base portion matching said first portion and having means projecting therefrom to interfit said U cross section to form surfaces for welds holding said two portions together;

c. each base portion having a peripherally extending concavo-convex segment defining an interior groove within the base portion;

d. a blank shaped to fit within said interior groove held captive therein to define a downwardly facing cup shaped portion to fit over the top of and to engage only the outside of a similarly shaped post;

e. a second arm member of U cross section welded to said first member at a point slightly above said base portion'and inclined in the opposite direction to form a Y-shaped configuration with the base being the bottom and the two arms being the upper extremities thereof.

2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said base portions are semi-cylindrical and said blank is a circular disc forming a cup shaped cavity adapted to fit over the top of a round post.

Disclaimer 3,698,691.-Th0mas W. Bawwn, Chattanooga, Tenn. FENCE BARB ARM. Patent dated Oct. 17, 1972. Disclaimer filed Dec. 31, 1975, by the inventor.

Hereby enters this disclaimer to claims 1 and 2 of said patent.

[Ofioial Gazette March 16, 1.976.] 

1. A Y-shaped arm assembly for supporting wires above a fence having vertical support post comprising: a. a first arm member having an inclined portion of U cross section with slots to receive said wires and a first base portion shaped to encompass approximately one half the periphery of said post formed on one end and integral therewith; b. a second similarly shaped base portion matching said first portion and having means projecting therefrom to interfit said U cross section to form surfaces for welds holding said two portions together; c. each base portion having a peripherally extending concavoconvex segment defining an interior groove within the base portion; d. a blank shaped to fit within said interior groove held captive therein to define a downwardly facing cup shaped portion to fit over the top of and to engage only the outside of a similarly shaped post; e. a second arm member of U cross section welded to said first member at a point slightly above said base portion and inclined in the opposite direction to form a Y-shaped configuration with the base being the bottom and the two arms being the upper extremities thereof.
 2. The assembly of claim 1 wherein said base portions are semi-cylindrical and said blank is a circular disc forming a cup shaped cavity adapted to fit over the top of a round post. 